ERIC ED371494: "A Place for Every Child."

133 Pages·1994·3.4 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 371 494
EC 303 081
AUTHOR
Autin, Diana MTK, Ed.
TITLE
"A Place for Every Child."
INSTITUTION
Advocates for Children of New York, Inc., Long Island
City.
PUB DATE
94
NOTE
129p.
PUB TYPE
Collected Works Serials (022) -- Viewpoints
(Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120)
JOURNAL CIT
Advocate; spec iss Win-Spr 1993-94
EDRS PRICE
MF01/PC06 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
*Child Advocacy; *Disabilities; Educational Change;
Educational Opportunities; *Educational Practices;
Elementary Secondary Education; *High Risk Students;
*Mainstreaming; Needs Assessment; Reguiar and Special
Education Relationship; Remedial Programs; School
Districts; Special Education; *Special Needs
Students
IDENTIFIERS
Diversity (Student); *New York City Board of
Education
ABSTRACT
This issue of "The Advocate" is a primer on
reclaiming educational opportunities to which New York City children
who are at risk of academic failure, due to disr;bility, limited
English proficiency, racism, and poverty, are entitled. The report
calls for the assignment of consultant teachers, paraprofessionals,
and other supportive staff and services to help teachers address the
wider diversity of needs that educational reform will place in the
mainstream classroom. It asks that a place be found for every child
to the maximum extent appropriate in the general education classroom
and that appropriate, challenging, quality instruction be provided to
students who require a special education setting. Section I focuses
on the current state of prevention, remediation, and support services
implemented by the New York City Board of Education and recommends
areas of improvement. Section II describes problems with existing
special education services, highlights promising pilots, and makes
recommendations for system-wide special edtication reform. (JDD)
****,4******************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
***********************************************************************
Dedieated:.to thiptneetion. Of every'ypungpereoies.rigktto.n..qiinlityl:edimation.
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office ol Educational Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
0 This document has been reproduced as
received frorn the person or organization
originating it.
0 Minor changes have been made to improve
reproduction Quality
Points of view or opinions stated in this docu-
ment do not necessarily represent official
OERI position or policy
"A Place
for Every
NW"
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS
MATE AL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)."
This special issue of
The Advocate
K)
is published by Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
24-16 Bridge Plaza South, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101, Tel. [phone]
tq
2
REST COPY AI/Alt-AKE
AFC Staff, Board of Directors & Contributors
The Advocate is published by Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
24-16 Bridge Plaza South, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101, Tel. [phone]
Galen D. Kirkland, ESQ.
Executive Director
Staff Attorneys/Project Directors
Office Staff
Ellen Gallagher Holmes, ESQ.
Diana MTK Autin, ESQ.
Managing Attorney & Editor
Inclusive Edu. for Disabled Children
Blanca Estepa
Odessa T. Lee Mirna St. Louis-McEachern, ESQ.
Stephanie Nash
Pro Bono Coordinator
Fiscal Director
Seuzana Roach
Dorothy Wendel
Conrado Vilaga
Case Advocates
Legal Education Assistance for Parents
Fiscal Assistant
Del lie Belton
(LEAP)
Valerie Pekar
Nadine Dominique
Intake Supervisor
Anna Espada
Parent Training & Info. Project
Barbie Morgan
Joan Harrington
Melissa Nieves-Pacheco
Case Advocate Supervisor &
Roberto Romero
Sec. 504/AIDS Edu. Project Coor.
Associate Director of Programs
Janice Silber
Board of Directors
Carol L. Ziegler
Members
Dr. Marjorie Hendler
President
Secretary
Marva A. Allen
Edward Morgan
Judge Anne G. Feldman
Rhonda Car loss Smith
Pedro Pedraza, Jr.
Ursula Thomas Davis
Vice President
Recording Secretary
Cecily D. Fox
Dr. Robert J. Schwartz
Audrey J. Gartner
Richard Sexton
Elaine Keith
Treasurer
Advocates for Children wishes to thank all the fmancial contributors
that make our work possible. Our program is supported by:
Aaron Diamond Foundation
Interest On Lawyers Account Fund
Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
Altman Foundation
Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation
Shefa Fund
American Express
Merrill Lynch
Skadden Fellowship Foundation
Met:ler Price Fund
Baker Foundation
Spingold Foundation
Booth Ferris Foundation
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company
U.S. Department of Education
Clark Foundation
New York City Department of
United Way of New York City
...
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
and the many
Youth Seevices
Ellen Fox Foundation
New York Community Trust
individuals and
Flom Foundation
New York State Division of Youth
families around
Fund for the City of New York
the city, state
Pinkerton Foundation
Herman Goldman Foundation
Primerica Foundation
and country.
The Advocate
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
3
Condolences
The Board of Directors and staff of Advocates for
Children mourns the passing of our long-time staff
member and friend Florence Korman.
Florence spent many years at AFC assisting parents
and students. As an intake worker she was often the
first person with whom a parents spoke. Her Compas-
sion and kindness to parents was an example for all
of us.
Florence came to work at AFC because she was
deeply committerl to ensuring that all children in the
New York City public schorls obtain equal quality
educational opportunities. The children of New York
City have lost a true friend and AFC has lost a
valued staff member.
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
The Advocate
4
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction:
Maldng a Place for Every Child
page 1
Section I: Prevention, Remediation and Support Services
page 4
Achieving Effective Schools
The Suppons Necessary to Learn: Principals Speak Project
page 9
Directory of Reimbursable Programs
page 31
Alternatives to "Holdovers" (Non-Promotion)
page 46
Section 504 Services Plan for New York City Public Schools
page 49
Consultant Teacher Prevention Initiative Services
page 51
Section II: Special Education Services
Parent Choice: Supported Inclusive Options
page 54
Notice to Parents
page 56
National Parent Network On Disabilities
page 57
New York State Education Department Policy Statement
On Least Restrictive Environment
page 60
LRE Policy Statement
September 29, 1993
page 68
The Advocate
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
Table of Contents
Section II: Special Education Services (continued)
page 72
Mainstream Services for Special Education Students
New York City Board of Education Fails to Implement
page 75
Consultant Teacher Continuwn Service
page 78
Pilot Inclusion Programs In New York
page 86
Integration, Not Segregation!
page 90
New York State Offices of Special Education Services
Pre-Schooler Entitled to Regular Education Services
page 95
Paid by Board of Education
Early Intervention: A New Entitlement for Families of Infants
page 96
With Disabilities
page 103
Dorothy Wendel
My Life
Inclusive School Communities for Students With Disabilities
page 107
Ten Reasons Why
page 111
Collaborative Teamwork: Working Together for Full Inclusion
.
. . .
Integration Checklist: A Guide to Full Inclusion of Students
page 116
With Disabilities
page 119
New York State Schools Are for Everyone
page 123
American With Disabilities Act, ADA Training Available
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
The Advocate
6
Page 1
Introduction
Making a Place for Every Child
A Message from Galen D. Kirkland
Executive Director, Advocates for Children
reforms advocated
Respect for the ability of every child to learn is the premise for the educational
price for the
by Advocates for Children of New York for over 23 years. We pay an inestimable
the full
refusal of too many teachers, administrators, and policy makers to come to terms with
the
potential of all children. For too long, a narrow vision of the type of child who "belongs" in
Only
mainstream has blinded our educational system to its responsibility to teach all children.
by embracing the range of diversity in physical, emotional, and mental characteristics can our
educational system begin to fulfill its role of nurturing the intellectual, social, emotional, and
physical life of all children, not just middle class children who fit a narrow set of specifications.
Yet New York City public schools reject the requirements for teaching a diverse population in
the same way that a recalcitrant student rejects an appropriate task that is not to their liking. The
segregation and grossly inadequate instruction of children at risk of academic failure due to
physical, mental or emotional d;sability, limited English proficiency, racism, and poverty in
special education programs is unacceptable. The children lose their chance to succeed and our
society loses its most important opportunity to include these many thousands of people as
constructive participants. The ground breaking report Segregated and Second Rate: "Special"
Education in New York by AFC detailed the tragedy of inappropriate, special education
placement for children of color and those with disabilities. This issue of The Advocate is a
primer on how we can reclaim the educational opportunity to which these and all children are
entitled. It contains an overview of the supports and services that are or should be provided to
New York City public school students.
Any realistic plan for public schools to appropriately serve all children must honestly address
the needs of good teachers and administrators working in an dysfunctional system. We call for
the assignment of consultant teachers, paraprofessionals, and other supportive staff and services
in the mainstream
to help the teacher address the wider diversity of needs that reform will place
classroom. The plans and recommendations that unfold in the following pages do not advocate
that children with special needs be abandoned in the mainstream classroom without the supportive
services that make their inclusion tenable. We ask that educators and administrators become our
allies in finding a place for every child to the maximum extent appropriate in the general
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
The Advocate
7
Introduction
Page 2
education classroom. We also ask that appropriate, challenging, quality instruction be provided
to those students who require a special education setting to meet their special needs.
The importance of fully opening the schools to students with special needs who can benefit from
inclusion without undermining the education of their peers is inescapable. Children must have
a secure sense of belonging in order to effectively use their intellectual powers. Segregation in
inferior, stigmatizing programs destroys the self confidence of children most at risk of academic
failure and stifles their sense of membership in the mainstream community. All of us should be
able to remember how important it was in our youth to belong. Indeed, our need to be affiliated
in adulthood is no less powerful, although masked by more complex dynamics. The recognition
of the universal human need for respect and acceptance must be the basis for the collaboration
that AFC seeks with you to establish the rightful place of all children, including those with special
needs, in the New York City public schools. V
>
:
-r
The Advocate
Winter 1993
- Spring 1994
Page 3
Section I
Section 1:
Prevention,
Remediation,
Servicet
and Support
is
The New York City Board of Education
required to provide appropriate preventive,
children
remediadve, and support services to
such programs
in general education. While many
through the cracks
do exist, too many children fall
and placed in,
and end up inappropriately referred to,
Advocate focuses
special education. This section of The
and
of prevention and support services
on the current state
recommends areas of improvement.
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994
The Advocate
9
Page 4
Section I
Chapter 1 is the cornerstone offederal efforts to assist
poor, academically disadvantaged students
catch up with their peers. It provides an unprecedented
but under-utilized
opportunity for
the meaningful educational reorm that is so desperately needed in New York City. The
following
article outlines the mandates of Chapter 1, the results of AFC's initial
survey of Chapter 1
programs in New York City, and our recommendations to reform Chapter 1.
Achieving Effective Schools
Nick Brustin
Legal Intern, Advocates for Children
Effective schools are the single most important factor for
success in the lives of poor children
at-risk of academic failure, and successful models
across the country prove that poverty is not
an insurmountable barrier to academic success. Schools can be made to work for all children.
Regrettably, few schm.s are utilizing these models, and
many students, particulaily poor students,
are not receiving the educational services they need and to which they are entitled. External
factors such as limited resources and the effects of concentrated
poverty influence the quality of
urban schools, but these problems do not give schools, school
districts, or state and federal
administrators the right to ignore proven educational practices and
to squander existing funds.
Schools can work for all children, but we must make them responsive
to children's needs.
With appropriate changes in how it is implemented in New York
City, Chapter 1 can be the
impetus for meeting that essential goal.
Congress amended provisions of Chapter 1 in 1988 to improve schools
with high concentrations
of poverty by mandating instruction in advanced skills; radically
increasing parent involvement,
professional development, and comprehensive school planning requirements;
and generally raising
school expectations. Congress intended these changes
to revolutionize a program that had
previously focused on teaching basic skills in supplemental settings.
Unfortunately, these
regulatory changes have had little impact in New York City. Chapter
1 continues to pay for
inappropriate, fragmented curriculum and
program models, rather than broad restructuring efforts
and meaningful parent involvement activities, and there is almost
a complete lack of state and
federal oversight of program implementation.
The Advocate
Winter 1993 - Spring 1994